Reversed Winds
by TalonEdge
Summary: When Kyoko and Ren become co-stars for Kyoko's debut movie, they suddenly switch bodies! Will they be able to fool everyone else? Will Ren be able to keep his hands off of Kyoko's body? Will the show go on? And why is Yashiro so happy about this?
1. A Selectively Meaningful Introduction

Disclaimer: If I owned Skip Beat! or anything mentioned in my story, I probably wouldn't be writing this.

This is my first fanfiction, so please review if you want! It'll help out.

* * *

Chapter 1: A Selectively Meaningful Introduction

Mogomi Kyoko was having a perfectly ordinary day. That is to say, a normal day for a revenge-driven actress who unknowingly had two of the most handsome and famous men in the entertainment business (one of which was the receiving end of her revenge) fighting over her.

Actually, I'll have to apologize. It would be insulting to Kyoko if I said she was revenge driven at this point. She now acted for the sake of finding her own self; the one that was hidden as she spent her entire life living for others (especially for those who didn't seem to appreciate it).

Anyway, though that information is important to the story at hand, it's about time to get this rather odd tale going.

"Morning, Mogomi-san," A voice wafted from behind her. Turning around, Kyoko saw that it was her acting sempai, Tsuruga Ren, along with his manager.

"A very good morning to you as well, Tsuruga-san!" Kyoko replied with a small smile.

Now, normally I'm not the person to mention things like "small smiles" when people interact with each other. However, there is a good reason why I specifically did. To show you, let's revisit this scene using Ren's point of view.

Tsuruga Ren and his manager Yashiro were walking down one of the numerous hallways of LME's main building when they came upon a young girl in a bright pink uniform. This normally would have been a very odd sight for a person to see, but both men knew that the person before them was not in the most normal of situations.

LME's rather eccentric president, Takarada Lory, was a man of strange traits. Though he cosplayed regularly and played otome-games, he had a strange way of reading people's true traits. He had seen Kyoko's ability, and had not wanted to simply let it go to waste, even though she lacked what he thought was an actor's most important trait: the ability to love and the want to love others. Therefore, she had been dumped (with a fair amount of negative connotations intended) into his own personal project: the Love Me section.

And so, the rather normal (if a bit eccentric herself) sixteen-year old girl was stuffed into the trademark pink overalls that all Love Me members wore, and was sent to do various jobs for people in order to grasp the power of love.

Charming. Now that we've established that Kyoko isn't wearing something that normally a person would rather die than wear because she wants to, let's move on.

"Morning, Mogomi-san," Ren said as he lengthened his stride to catch up to her. She turned and returned his greeting.

"A very good morning to you as well, Tsuruga-san!" Kyoko replied.

Now before we continue, I'd like to point out for those who haven't noticed that I did not mention her small smile this time. This is simply because it will take much more than a couple of words to describe Ren's reaction. Enjoy.

While saying this, Kyoko flashed an angelically cute smile that made Ren want to drop his normal "cool and collected" image and hug her right there. It was enough trouble for Ren to avoid doing anything too forward to her on a normal basis, but these moments were the ones that Ren ingrained into his mind to help him get through the day.

If you are just as bad as Kyoko in recognizing another's feelings, it should be mentioned at this point that Tsuruga Ren is indeed madly in love with this aspiring high school girl.

"You're certainly energetic today, Kyoko-chan!" chimed in Yashiro. "What do you have planned for today?" It always did his mind good to see her. Not because of any feelings towards her, but because of his charge's. He looked over at Ren's unguarded face. He had a genuine smile on, one that Yashiro could read in a moment.

"I'm going over to the President's office right now. He says that there's a special job that he wants me to take." Kyoko seemed excited.

"Actually, we were going the same way," Ren replied, beginning to walk again. "Why don't we go there together?"

"Sure, if you're fine with walking with your kouhai." Kyoko lowered her head a little at this and followed after Ren.

Yashiro sighed and shook his head.

* * *

- For future reference, I do plan to keep this narration going, unless people find it annoying. It's fun for me to write like this, though. Allows me to crack jokes at things. Since I think it's obvious enough when the narrator is talking directly to the readers, I decided not to change the font or do anything to the narrator's lines. I think it makes the story sound more conversational.

- I must say that I applaud Yashiro's efforts to place these two inexperienced people together. He hasn't given up after nearly a year. That takes perseverance.

- Next chapter will be longer. Promise.


	2. Approaching Storm

Disclaimer: I do not own Skip Beat! or anything that would get me in trouble if I said that I did own it.

Please review! This is my first fanfiction, and so constructive criticism is gladly accepted! (Normal criticism will also be accepted, though not so gladly.)

* * *

Chapter 2: Approaching Storm

As mentioned before, the President of LME Productions was not the most normal of people. This was put into perspective rather nicely when one looked at his office.

To be short, it was a room fit for the richest kings and queens of old. To avoid wasting the rest of the chapter describing it, I'll allow you, the readers, to imagine as you would (or simply read the manga).

The aforementioned eccentric President was trying on a new costume when he heard a knock on his door. He quickly put on the cloak of his Knights Templar outfit and promptly answered it.

"Welcome, my fellow knights of entertainment!" He exclaimed as he saw the three people on the other side of his overly-decorated entryway. "What bringith thou to my humble abode?"

'_Humble abode' my ass_, all three of them thought in unison.

"You did call us, didn't you? Mogomi-san and I." Ren managed to say, trying to recover from the overly-excited knight's entrance. At this, the President calmed down a bit, though he instead took on a rather bored face.

"Tch. Always the boring one, aren't you?"

Yashiro silently agreed, while Kyoko wondered what exactly the President had meant by 'boring.' Ren himself stayed silent.

"Well, whatever. Come in, I've got a job offer for you."

Once they had entered and seated themselves across from the President's large desk, he pulled out several folders.

"Kogomi-kun, Ren, what I have here is an offer from Hikari Productions asking you two to co-star one of their newest movies." Handing both of them a folder, they could see the title _Harikeen no Chuuoo_ printed.

"...Eye of the Storm, correct?" Kyoko asked for confirmation after a quick lookover.

"Yes. It will be a survival story between a man and a woman after their plane crashes into an uncharted island. Though they initially dislike each other and do not want to interact with one another, they soon find out that they must combine their efforts for them to survive. It will blossom into a beautiful romance as they fall in love with each other while they try to get rescued," the President had a rather scary twinkle in his eye as he said this, "and they have a beautiful wedding after they get rescued."

"And this man and woman would be played by Kyoko-chan and Ren." Yashiro confirmed.

"Correct. The director of the movie, Osonagi Akio, was very enthusiastic about working with Ren."

Yashiro turned to Kyoko at this. However, it seemed that she wasn't hurt at the lack of recognition. Quite the contrary, in fact.

"Well of course! It is my sempai, _the_ Tsuruga Ren, after all!"

The President chuckled at this. Ren, on the other hand, had a weird expression on his face. It was a mix between his usual glittery smile and disappointment. Yashiro had a similar expression (minus the glittery-ness). Both of them couldn't help but mentally shake their heads at this girl's humility. Even after almost a year of acting, Kyoko still believed herself as a bothersome kouhai with little talent of her own when compared with her sempai.

Actually, prior to the start of our story, Kyoko had participated in two successful dramas, a commercial, a PV, and was participating in a variety show as a mascot chicken weekly. Her roles as Mio in Dark Moon and Natsu in Box "R" were both highly praised.

And despite all this, she still believed that she would be helpless without her sempai Tsuruga Ren, whom she believed had acting abilities equivalent to a god's. While it was true that Ren was the most popular actor in Japan, she was quickly catching up to him with her determination and ability to "become" her character when she acted.

"What about Kyoko-chan?" Yashiro inquired.

"I recommended Mogomi-kun as the female lead myself," the President replied, "since I feel that it should be about time to allow her to make her debut."

"B-but!" Kyoko interjected, blushing lightly. "I'm nowhere good enough yet. I still feel like I have so much more to learn!"

"Mogomi-san…" Ren patted her on the shoulder lightly. She turned and looked at him with another one of those incredibly cute expressions, just begging for him to help her.

*Snap!* went a sound in Ren's head. Mental picture taken.

"You'll do fine." Ren gave her a warm smile. Kyoko, blushing just a bit more, gave a small nod in response. Insert bubbles here.

*Snap!* went a sound in Yashiro's head. Mental picture taken. Tease creation program loading…

Ren, as if he had heard the snap go off, turned over at Yashiro and gave him one of his trademark glittery smiles.

Of death.

System shutdown.

"Anyway," the President cut in, enjoying the mini-episode of romantic comedy folding out in his office, but wanting to continue, "Mogomi-kun, I specifically requested that you take this role because of your many skills outside of acting. During the movie, both you and Ren will have to do many of the things that a real person would need to due to survive. Because of this, a strong, skilled, and determined person was needed, and I believed you would be able to fit the role perfectly."

At the mention of her skills outside of acting, Kyoko gave an embarrassed laugh. It appeared that her act of transforming a daikon into a cabbage using a knife had stayed in the President's head much longer than she had expected.

After one last appraising glance of the two actors, the President stood up, his armor clinking (If you had forgotten what he was wearing, I won't blame you), signaling that the business that he had called them for had been taken care of. The other three stood up in turn.

"Good luck you two."

Kyoko, Ren, and Yashiro bowed respectfully in response.

As they turned to leave, the President put a hand on Ren's shoulder. "Yashiro-san, I have something I wish to discuss with your charge. Will you give me a minute?"

Yashiro, though puzzled, nodded and continued out. Kyoko followed soon after.

* * *

I apologize if you feel like this is boring fluff. You do need some back-story before you get to the juicy parts, I believe. It's like a hamburger.

…Shoot, I'm hungry now.

- For reference, the story takes place not long after Ren finishes his role as Actor X. Therefore, Setsuka's ready to go and I've made Kyoko finished with Box 'R' as well.

- The bubbles mentioned referred to the general atmosphere that is made in anime and manga when two characters have a touching moment. If you don't understand, then watch some anime.

- I tried making the President speak in Midieval English. I don't think it turned out well.

- I promised I'd make it longer. And it was, though only a little. I'm sorry for those who feel they were cheated. *dogeza*

The next chapter will start getting on track with the plotline. Hooray plot!


	3. Lovely Cyclone of Words

Disclaimer: Oh how I wished I owned Skip Beat!

This is my first fanfiction, so additional reviews would like to be received from you (the readers).

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Chapter 3: Lovely Cyclone of Words

Ren and the President of LME were alone in the President's royal suite (otherwise known as his office), sitting across from each other. Ren was not the least bit confident that what the President had to say was either constructive or positive, and he had a sinking feeling it would have something to do with his social life.

He was absolutely correct.

"Ren, you boring man, get a grip on yourself! How long have you pined after this girl? It's been at least four months, right? Probably longer, I bet. Come on! After your role in Dark Moon, I'd thought you'd get a little closer with her! I even had her play Setsuka for you. She was practically all over you, and it's still 'Mogomi-san' and 'Tsuruga-san' between you two? Dear God, you're so helpless…"

Ren was expecting something of this sort, but the President's intensity had caught him off guard.

"She's completely clueless. Even advance I make is passed off as being a good sempai or acting. How am I supposed to tell her that -"

*BOOM*

The President had flung his hands down onto his desk, partially to silence Ren, and partially because he was exasperated.

Most partially, though, the President just liked to be flamboyant.

"...Want me to tell you how?" he had a glint in his eye. One that chilled Ren to the bone.

Suddenly, he seemed to disappear from his seat, and before Ren could think at how strange this was (even for the President), he had reappeared right in front of the young actor.

I found this amazing, considering what he was wearing (it should be noted that the armor he was wearing was completely authentic, which made it rather heavy and loud). The President could apparently surpass human limits if it was about love.

"You want to know how to tell her?" Takarada Lory whispered again, gripping onto Ren's shoulders.

All poor Ren could do was meekly nod, unsure of what was to come.

"YOU CALL HER OUT ONE DAY, AND SAY 'MOGOMI KYOKO, I LOVE YOU' LIKE YOU MEAN IT!"

Well, duh. Even Kyoko, the loveless wonder, could have thought of that.

Ren, shocked at the sudden volume change, looked towards the office entrance. If Kyoko was waiting for him, then she'd be just outside…

"Don't worry. Those doors are soundproof enough." The President ensured, reading Ren's mind. If that wasn't enough, when Ren turned back, the President had, once again, exceeded human abilities, and was now once again sitting in his seat.

"Ren. Ever since you played Katsuki, I saw that you had finally begun to understand what love was. You understand as well. If you truly want to have her, then you must take this first step."

"B-but…she's just a high-school girl. How can I? It just wouldn't be right…"

The President sighed. "As I said, only you can take the first step. If you continue to bind yourself with chains, then you will never be able to move forward." Both of them were aware that this applied to more than just Ren's love life.

The armored man gave the troubled actor a non-literal second to think, then nodded a message of dismissal.

Ren stood up from his chair. He had much to think about. As he walked towards the door, the President let out one last cryptic message.

"Perhaps the raging winds of the impeding storm may free you from those binding chains."

With this, Ren left, leaving the President alone.

* * *

Or so he thought.

The moment that Ren closed the door, another Takarada Lory emerged from under the chair that Ren had been sitting in moments ago. The two of them were perfectly identical, from their clothes to their hair.

"Good work, Sebastian." The Lory that had been sitting down said. The other Lory pulled on his hair, and he took off a form-fitting plastic mask bearing the President's face. Sure enough, it was Lory's elusive personal butler.

I guess that even Takarada Lory couldn't surpass human limits for the sake of love, though it seems he is more than willing to surpass human expectations instead.

Being omniscient makes things so more interesting. I suggest you try it sometime.

* * *

As he had expected, Kyoko was waiting for him outside of the large door. His heart skipped a beat when he saw her smiling face.

"Mogomi-san! Were you waiting for me?" Ren managed to say.

"Yep!" Kyoko chirped back. Ren noticed no change in her behavior, so he decided not to bring up whether or not she had heard the President's outburst.

Ren decided to play it safe.

"What do you think about your role?" Ren asked. Kyoko was holding the movie script in her hand, and had been looking at it before he had exited the office.

"Hmm…well, Shizuka Kaho isn't a bully or anything, so I'll hope this movie will allow me to play in more positive roles. I'll be able to pull this off, no problem."

Ren gave her a small, genuine smile. It was so cute when she was excited.

"Just remember, if you need any help, feel free to ask. I'm always available."

Normally, if any other woman had been on the receiving end of this, it would have been an instant blow to the heart. Kyoko, on the other hand, was able to deflect it off her "sempai" barrier without even noticing.

"Thank you, Tsuruga-sempai! I'll keep that in mind. I just hope I can avoid being such a bothersome kouhai this time around."

Though slightly disappointed, Ren had expected the deflection before he had even offered. He hated to admit that the President was right, but Ren resigned to the simple fact that Mogomi Kyoko would block every and all advances on her heart short of a full-power frontal assault.

And I think she'd be able to take one of those pretty well.

* * *

- I had the conversation between Ren and Lory played out in my head hours before I wrote this, but I didn't expect it to completely dominate the chapter. In the end, I didn't get much plot into this chapter either. Though it was fun to write, I actually do want to stick some plot into the next couple of chapters. Honest.

- Most of the chapters in the story will have names relating to 'storms,' 'winds,' and things of the like. I made it as a motif (recurring symbol) of the movie that Kyoko and Ren are to act in, the _Eye of the Storm_, as well as a motif of the chaos that is to ensue later on.

- I was planning to have Lory 'exceed the limits of a human for love' multiple times throughout the story as a recurring gag, but I actually found this set-up funnier. I can't wait to see how the President will exceed human expectations next.


	4. Kyoko's Newest Windbreaker

Disclaimer: I do not own Skip Beat! or anything relating to it. *sob*

This is my first fanfiction, so feel free to review.

* * *

Chapter 4: Kyoko's Newest Windbreaker

There were two days before the shooting for _Harikeen no Chuuoo_ began, and Kyoko was determined to get her character down. There was no way that she was going to let her esteemed sempai down.

She was sitting in her room, looking over the folder that the President had given her earlier in the week.

_Shizuka Kaho, age 25. She works as a P.E. teacher at a high school in America. Originally born in Japan, she is bilingual. She has a low tolerance for mistakes but becomes happy when things are done correctly, which makes her a favorite among teachers and students alike. Kaho was a Varsity Scout as a young girl, and is very independent. She has a young adopted daughter, who she cherishes._

I think it's about time to explain a little more about Kyoko's abilities. To help me, I have asked for the assistance of several of Kyoko's personas.

Please welcome Mio and Natsu.

"I do hope this is worth my time," Natsu sighed. She was a sophisticated teen with her hair swept to the side, a beautiful necklace, and wore designer's clothes. She could have been mistaken as a model.

The other girl, Mio, merely nodded. She wore dark clothes, and had a large scar running on the right side of her face, uncovered by her short jet-black hair.

Could you tell our readers about how you were created?

"Fine," Natsu reluctantly agreed, "It's like this. Kyoko will imagine our situations by reading through the script. By examining every single aspect of the story, Kyoko is able to construct a 'soul' out of these facets."

"Think about it like this," Mio spoke up. "You have a sphere. This is the 'core,' or the plotline. It represents the memories and events that have happened to each character. An actor must make a 'soul' to cover this 'core.' The better it fits, the closer the actor can become the character. Our creator has the ability to create a perfect 'soul' of any 'core' she comes across."

I thought we were talking about acting, not video games.

"Ara, I could talk about it in a much more…sensual way." Natsu gave a seductive smile.

I think I'll pass on that offer. Please remember the ratings.

"Actually, if anyone should be remembering things, it should be you." Mio interjected. "Don't you have a story to narrate?"

Shoot. I forgot.

Kyoko was compiling all the information she had read into her head.

_No nonsense, yet kind…Varsity Scout…daughter…adopted…_

_Wait…adopted?_

Kyoko had an idea.

* * *

Ren woke up to the sound of a ringing phone. Expecting it to be from Yashiro, he lazily got up and flipped open the compact cell.

"Ugh…whas-iz-it?"

"E-eh? Ts-Tsuruga-san? Is that you?"

Crap. He had answered like that…to Kyoko.

Trying to save face, Ren quickly got a hold of himself. "A-ah! Mogomi-san? What's the matter?"

"U-um…I was wondering if you do something with me…"

_With_? Ren was becoming dangerously hopeful.

"Could you, um...well…actually, could I come to your apartment?"

Calm down, Ren. You already know what's going to happen.

"Sure. What time? I can pick you up."

"Don't worry, Tsuruga-san. I don't need a ride."

Before he could ask why, the doorbell rang.

"As you can see…I'm already here."

Ren jumped out of bed.

It was 7:00 in the morning, for Pete's sake; why would she be here so early?

After getting everything ready (it should be noted that the clothes that had been chosen were one of his better outfits that he didn't usually wear), Ren unlocked the door to his apartment and opened it.

Kyoko was standing on the other side, with a large smile on her face. She was wearing a light brown jacket, slightly baggy jeans, and was holding a (very) large bag in her hands. It was cute, but not quite what Ren had expected.

"A very good morning to you, Tsuruga-sempai!"

Ren was having trouble taking all this cuteness in the morning. He quickly locked away his feelings and straightened up his face (he had learned from Yashiro's auto-teasing that his normally serious face would slip during moments like this).

"Good morning, Mogomi-san. Do you need something from me?" Ren hoped he didn't sound too blunt.

"Well, I was actually wondering if you could help me with my part." Kyoko blushed a little.

This response was a bit surprising for Ren. Normally it would be:

"I'M SO SORRY, TSURUGA-SEMPAI! I'M USELESS! I CAN'T DO ANYTHING WITHOUT YOUR HELP!"

While kneeling in a dogeza and crying.

"Could it be…that you already have your character down?"

Kyoko gave a small nod. Ren was surprised. It hadn't even been a week since they had been given the assignment.

"That's impressive, Mogomi-san. But didn't you say that you needed help?"

"Well," Kyoko fidgeted a little at this, "since you must have gotten your role down as well, I kind of wanted to practice a little."

_I see_, Ren thought. _Of course she wanted to practice. There's no other reason she would want to come to my apartment._

It's best to be prudent with your emotions.

"What's with the bag?"

"Well…" Kyoko fidgeted even more at this, blushing slightly. "I was wondering if you had eaten yet and…"

Ren had a feeling his day was going to go quite well.

* * *

Yashiro was waiting in front of his apartment, waiting for Ren to pick him up. Since he didn't have a license, Ren was the one who had to drive the car.

However, Ren was late. This was rather unusual for him. Was he sick? Yashiro couldn't call him (he had run out of rubber gloves) and it was too far to walk to his charge's high-end apartment.

As he felt a cliche wind whistle through his hair, Yashiro had a growing suspicion that he had been forgotten.

* * *

As Kyoko cooked in his simple, but well-stocked apartment kitchen, Ren couldn't help but think that he had forgotten something.

However, this was put in the back of his mind as Kyoko placed a magnificent spread of dishes before him. There was miso soup, rice, eggs, slightly-seasoned fish, and more. It appeared that she had also randomly alternated between western dishes and traditional ones. Just like the layers of sediment in the earth, there were layers of differently styled dished that she built up before Ren.

"Itadakimasu!" Kyoko chirped, obviously pleased with the outcome.

"…Itadakimasu." Ren tried hard not to get caught up in the waves of happiness radiating from the young high school girl across from him.

Kyoko was worried that Ren might be annoyed somehow, but his face lit up when he took his first bite, and the rest of the meal was spent in cheerful conversation.

"Thank you for the meal, Mogomi-san. It was very delicious."

"It's the least I could do, Tsuruga-san. After all, you help me all the time."

At this, Ren remembered why she had come. The relapse dampened his enthusiasm just a little.

"You said you wanted to practice, right? Do you have anything in mind?"

Kyoko seemed to have forgotten as well, and at this she became flustered.

"O-oh dear, I completely forgot! I-I-I'm so SORRY TSURU–"

Though it was a bit later than expected, it came. Whatever mood they had before had been completely and effectively shattered.

Ren silenced her by quickly placing his finger on her lips.

"If you are a true professional, then you shouldn't make such a big fuss over everything. You'll just waste more time."

Kyoko nodded in confirmation, and stood up from her half-dogeza.

"Alright then. If you could lend me a minute and your bathroom, I'll get ready."

Going over to the large bag she had brought with her, she pulled out a smaller cloth bag (how much room does that bag have anyway?) and walked over to the bathroom.

Kyoko had been to Ren's apartment before. The first time was when Kyoko acted as Ren's temporary manager. He had gotten sick, and Kyoko had taken care of him as he rested at home. In addition, she had come over several times before for situations similar to this one.

Whether you take this information like a Yashiro (extreme overreaction) or a Kyoko (oblivious deflection) is up to you.

* * *

After Kyoko had retreated into the restroom, Ren was left staring at his finger.

_Why did I do such a thing? I'm happy she didn't freak out, but…_

Ren thought back on the soft feeling of her lips. Even without kissing her, he could tell how good it would feel if they…

_Wait, what am I thinking? She's in high school!_

Ren struggled to purge his thoughts of the angelic feeling.

* * *

- Messing around with Kyoko's personas is actually less fun that I thought it would be. The explanation that Mio gave was weird too. It wasn't even paying attention, and it just came out like that. The reaction that the narrator gives to the explanation is actually my real reaction to what I had written.

- If you noticed in Chapter 1, Kyoko greets Ren differently than Ren greets her. The 'A very good morning to you' is how I decided to portray the more respectful Japanese way of saying good morning, which is 'Ohayo gozaimasu.' Ren and others use the more casual manner of saying it, which in Japanese is simply 'Ohayo.'

- The thing with Yashiro was completely conjecture. I know he can't drive, but I don't know if he really does live that far away, or if Ren does pick him up. I would assume he does, but if anyone finds evidence suggesting otherwise, please tell me.

- Since the narrator usually only comes out to crack jokes, during plot-saturated scenes, he won't pop out as much. I don't want to make the narrator seem forced.

Next Chapter: Kyoko reveals her newest persona, Ren snaps, and Yashiro is forgotten some more.


	5. A Surprisingly Exceptional Breeze

Disclaimer: Since this is a fanfiction, it can be reasonably inferred that I do not own Skip Beat! or anything else mentioned in this story.

This is my first fanfiction, so please review. It would be very much appreciated.

* * *

Chapter 5: A Surprisingly Exceptional Breeze

Kyoko came out of the bathroom, finished with her preparations as Ren was trying to save himself from the Mogomi Melting Pot.

"Tsuruga-san? Are you okay?" Kyoko asked, noticing his troubled expression.

Ren was on his knees, hands grasping his head as if it was in excruciating pain, which wasn't too far off. Not the coolest position to be in.

"Eh? Ah, yes...right then." Ren stood up, brushing off his coat as if he had merely tripped. His face was locked in his usual smiling face. He didn't want Kyoko to get distracted during her acting.

Entertainingly, it seemed to have an opposite effect. Let's go to Kyoko's point of view.

Tsuruga Ren was on his knees, hands grasping his head as if it was in excruciating pain.

_Oh crap_, Kyoko thought, _did I do something bad? What did I do? No wait…maybe's it's not me…_

"Tsuruga-san? Are you okay?"

"Eh? Ah, yes…right then." Ren stood up, wearing a glittery smile on his face.

_HE'S DEFINITELY MAD AT ME! IT MUST BE BECAUSE OF HOW LONG I TOOK IN THE BATHROOM! I'M SO UNPROFFESIONAL! I'M A HORRIBLE KOUHAI!_

And so, both Kyoko and Ren were thoroughly stressed out due to each other's facial expression.

Kyoko had a scared rabbit's expression on her face. She looked ready to flee at the drop of a dime.

_Did she see me do that? She must be creeped out by me!_ Ren thought, looking at her face. _I must act normal! Otherwise, she might not want to be around me anymore!_

As he turned the gentleman up, she became even more scared.

_Oh no! He's getting even angrier! What should I do? He's not going to want to act with me at this rate!_

And so, the vicious cycle continued until its breaking point, where...

Simultaneously, both Kyoko and Ren began hurling apologies at each other.

"I'm sorry, Tsuruga-san!" "Mogomi-san, it's not what it looked like!" "I'm a failure as a kouhai! I've been so unprofessional!" "I wasn't' thinking of anything weird or – " "I don't deserve to have such a wonderful sempai like you!" "It was…well…"

"PLEASE FORGIVE ME!"

And, as it usually was, neither of them had any idea what the other one was talking about.

* * *

Only after they had both calmed down (which involved a rather long and unnecessary apology from Kyoko, followed by a near-continuous stream of assurances from Ren) did Ren notice what Kyoko had changed into. She was wearing a long sleeved shirt and slacks. She wasn't wearing a wig, but her hair had been pulled back into a small bun. Besides a timer around her slender neck, she wore no other accessories.

"Is that what you plan to wear for the scene?" Ren confirmed.

"Ah, yes. I plan to have my hair be black for the actual shoot, but besides that, this is what I plan to wear, at least for the first part of the movie."

Ren couldn't really see what Kyoko was going for with her outfit. It didn't show off any particular point of her (though in Ren's eyes, she would always be cute) and Ren couldn't think of a specific personality that would complement her clothing.

"So, you'd like me to play as Mr. Johnson, right?"

Ren wouldn't play as Mr. Johnson in the actual movie, but he was helping Kyoko practice an earlier scene, where Shizuko and Mr. Johnson, another teacher, are alone in the teacher's lounge.

"Yup! It'll be a big help." Kyoko was waiting just inside Ren's guest bedroom. They were planning to use the large living room of the apartment as the teacher's lounge, and Kyoko had wanted to use the guest bedroom as an entrance.

After a quick nod from Ren, Kyoko closed the door. Taking a deep breath, she prepared her newest 'soul' and reopened the door as Shizuko.

* * *

**Mr. Johnson is in the teacher's lounge, grading the homework he had assigned to his students the day before. As he finishes marking a particularly bad paper (C+: Please work harder to answer the questions more completely!), Shizuko enters the longue, carrying a stack of papers. Mr. Johnson, who is single, is interested in the young teacher, and enthusiastically greeted her.**

"**Ah, Ms. Shizuko! Good work today."**

"**Thank you, Mr. Johnson. I see you've been working hard as well."**

Ren couldn't quite get a read on the character that Kyoko had become. Her Shizuko was not much different than her normal self; however, Ren couldn't quite identify the small part that was different. It was a new experience for the actor, who could normally read through a character in an instant.

**Shizuko places her papers down and walks over to the vending machine. She buys a bottle of water and sits down. Mr. Johnson eagerly watches her, and she notices.**

"**Is something the matter, Mr. Johnson?" Shizuko asks, pointing at his papers. Since she came into the room, he had not graded one paper. The C+ paper is still visible on top of his finished stack.**

"**Ah, no. Nothing is wrong. I was just thinking about something."**

"**Does that something have something to do with me?" Shizuko replied, with a little smile. It wasn't a seductive or angry expression, but neither was it an innocent one. Mr. Johnson wasn't quite sure how to identify it.**

"**We-ell…it's just that Ms. Shizuko is so popular with the students, and I was wondering how you did it."**

"**Did it? I haven't done anything special." **

"**Really? Because they're always thinking about you…" Mr. Johnson said, standing up.**

_Hold up, _Ren thought, _what am I doing? I'm not supposed to –_

However, as if possessed by some alien force, Ren began walking towards his partner, who was looking down at the papers in her hands.

"…**just as I always think about you."**

**He is standing over Shizuko's small frame as she looks up from her work. As they make eye contact, he begins to lean in.**

"**You know, they'd do whatever you tell them to do, just-like-that," he says, snapping his fingers.**

"**Is that so?" Shizuko says, unperturbed by the sudden advances. She does not make a move or a sound; she simply keeps eye contact with him.**

"**The same goes for me, Ms. Shizuko." He leans in closer, their heads almost touching. His arms are extended, pushing against the chair, but bending slowly as he continues.**

"**I need you, Kyo– " He begins to say something, but he is stopped.**

**Her sudden change in expression freezes him. Not because of his infatuation, but because of her golden gaze; sending him messages, stopping him in his tracks. **

**Pity. He sees pity in her eyes. Not pity for herself, but for him. Why would she pity him?**

…_**That you would be interested in someone like me.**_

**What is this?**

_**I'm not the kind of person that should be…**_

_**It would only lead to sadness and despair…**_

_**There's no way that I'd be able to…**_

**They flood his mind, driving out all other thoughts. He becomes scared; incoherent. He feels as though he will drown in the feelings of her eyes. He must escape…**

**He recoils from the gaze, as if he had been physically struck. As he takes a step away, Shizuko gives a small, sad smile and stands up, collecting her things. He is frozen in place, unable to even blink, as she quietly leaves the room.**

* * *

The moment that Kyoko closed the door and disappeared from sight, Ren regained control. He staggered over to a chair and slumped into it. He felt as though he had just run a marathon. Touching his head, he realized that he had broken into a cold sweat.

_What has she done? It's…unimaginably…_

Thinking back to the scene, Ren shivered. Not only because of Shizuko's pitying gaze, but also because of the slip-up that he had narrowly avoided.

_What have I done? Why did I do all that? It wasn't in the script! And I almost said 'Kyoko' at the end! What a mess!_

As the scene replayed in his mind, he could remember how close to her he had been.

How close their faces had been.

How close their lips had been…

Ren couldn't think straight. However, as he struggled to clear his head and get a hold on himself, he had at least one rational thought:

The greatest and most famous actor in Japan, Tsuruga Ren, had just been led by the acting power of Mogomi Kyoko.

* * *

Yashiro had given up. It was almost noon, and Ren hadn't shown up. He resigned himself to a lonely day at home.

_It's probably something with Kyoko-chan_, he thought to himself. _That guy could lose himself with her around._

As he tripped over his front step while walking back inside, Yashiro hoped that things would go well with them, and for himself as well.

* * *

- The Mogomi Melting Pot is a reference to Chapter 150 (except there it was the Tsuruga Melting Pot). In Chapter 150, it's Kyoko being spun around and confused by the multitude of thoughts about Ren after he kisses her on the cheek. Here, it's more or less the same thing, except now it's Ren fantasizing about Kyoko (and simultaneously trying to stop).

- More plot = less narration. It's an equation I plan to use throughout the story.

- Movie lines and actions will be in bold.

- For those who aren't satisfied with Ren's lapse in judgement as "snapping," you can rest assured (or become even angier) at the fact that I did make Ren snap in this chapter..with his fingers.

Next Chapter: Less plot, more Lory, and the introduction of several original characters. Let the movie begin!


	6. Intermission: Dead Breeze

Dear treasured audience,

Sorry I haven't made any new chapters lately (or in a while in fact), but things came up and I haven't been in the mood for comedy.

My father has recently passed away, and it has been a hassle getting everything back in order.

While I know that it is my fault that I haven't been writing new chapters, I do hope you will forgive me for my lateness.

I'll have a new chapter by tomorrow, and I'll do my best to keep writing new chapters as fast as possible.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.


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